The book of James has five chapters and will likely only take you about 20 minutes to read in one sitting. It might sound like a daunting task, but it is much easier than you think. Whaaat? Am I crazy asking you this? No, not at all.
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I have one last challenge for you as you begin to study the book of James: Read the whole book of James in one sitting. Because we have looked at this audience's background, we now know that they have already experienced trials and tribulations in the form of persecution. James addresses their attitude towards tribulation and trials. This background information will come in handy when we approach our first passage. So, these Jewish believers began to “scatter among the nations”, as James describes it in verse 1.
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In other words, they witnessed this persecution and uprooted their lives to escape it. Understandably, this scared many of the believers who quickly took off and found other places to live. Stephen, a faithful servant of God during the early-church years, proclaimed his faith in Jesus boldly and was stoned because of it. To better understand what is happening here, read or skim the previous two chapters. We find this important background information on the book of James in Acts 8:1. When we study an epistle, such as the book of James, we can usually find more background information about the audience - and sometimes about the author's interaction with the audience - in the book of Acts. I can't wait to be challenged by his words. James is about to challenge us to live the kind of life that reflects the heart of God. Loving actions and obedience are still an important part of our faith.ĭoes the attitude we see in James's audience sound familiar? Have you ever encountered this philosophy in today's world? You might consider the counter-statement: “The sinner's prayer is not a get-out-of-jail-free card.” Why do preachers emphasize this truth?Įven in today's world, there are some who hear that salvation is by faith alone and take that as a permission to continue their misguided lives, maybe with a few faith practices sprinkled throughout. That is not the life that God wants us to live. James is writing to correct this line of thinking. However, as we read the book of James, we get the sense that James' audience had a different struggle.Īs the apostles and other teachers began to spread the word that salvation is by faith alone, not by keeping the law, it seems that some took this phrase out of context: Salvation is by faith alone.ĭoes that mean we don't have to worry about our actions? No. Jewish believers at this time grew up following the law and believing that their obedience meant their salvation. When they became believers in Jesus Christ, some struggled with the idea that salvation was by faith alone and not at all by keeping the Law. This background information comes in handy when James starts to reference things like “the Law”. They were the tribes of the nation Israel that descended from the family of Jacob.įor the purpose of our study of the book of James - or of any epistle - it is of interest to note whether the audience was made up of mostly Jewish or Gentile believers. Genesis 49:1-28 tells you exactly who the 12 tribes are. We want to live the way God wants us to live. Yes, we want to know how God sees the world, but beyond that, we want to then live according to that new knowledge. He calls us to not only learn more about God intellectually by to put that knowledge into practice. The Book of James, in general, challenges us to live out our faith. Not only does this verse give us some basic information about the background of the book of James, but it also presents us with our first opportunity to reflect on our commitment to Jesus.
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“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.” James 1:1 What do we know about the circumstances in which this book was written?įortunately, the first verse of the Book of James gives us the answer to some of these questions.
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Who was the original audience? What do we know about the audience? The first step of studying any book of the Bible, especially epistles, is to answer some preliminary questions: